Coming in for a landing to run with the stampede...

BlackBirdXX03

New Member
Mar 11, 2004
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I posted this originally on CPonyGo.com, but wanted to say hello to you all on here as a new owner of a brand new 03 Cobra...

Well an era has ended....sort of...

I wanted to post to say hello to everyone and I hope to meet you all very soon. In a freak accident that I took as a sign from God, I decided to scrap my quest to build up my 94 Thunderbird SC and possibly sell the 1993 Thunderbird SC which I have invested way too much cash in to bring to the horsepower/torque that my new "redhead" provides off the factory floor.

Last week Thursday, I purchased a 2003 Redfire Cobra. That night the weenie you all know as CAP on this board backed the thing into a pole (at a low speed roll) when the car was 4 hours old and had 29 miles on it. What can I say, Cap likes a good pole in the rear... (lol)

Dont get me wrong, everyone expected me to be all bent about it and sure it bothers me, but Ive known the guy for 13 years and I aint worried about it being repaired.

Why was he driving it? Well, I am sure you all will flame me for this later, but I had not touched a manual trans since 1994 or 1995. I was in a bit of a hurry to buy the car considering the situation that I was in at the time and had planned on a manual transmission....Fate placed me at a Ford dealer with the following story and the third car on my list of vehicles became the #1 choice after all.

So I am driving along at about 80mph on the expressway. Now, between my 1993 and 1994, I have noticed that the aerodynamics of the car cause the sunroof to lift slightly when over 80mph. Both cars did this and I always hated the noise. Well I had known that the sunroof rim had a little rust on it, but I could never really tell how bad this rust was. I had researched the price of the new glass and planned on replacing it, but fate and God got to it first.

Now, for about three months or so I had been shopping for cars. The clock was running out on the remaned engine that Ford jammed in this thing (engine #6 paid for by them via recall, but thats another tale) and the rod knock was embarassing to say the least. I had planned to drop a custom built 450-470hp monster 3.8 in it from CMRE in Virginia, but I have since cancelled that order. I had looked at the new Acura TL 6MP bla bla bla with nav and all that. Decided that it would be too common and too low HP for my taste. Next was the M3, but all that cash for that car did not appeal to me. I looked at the new Cadillac convertible and a host of other high-end luxury performance vehicles and could not figure on what to do.

Then there was the Cobra. Now for years, I admit, I did not like Mustangs for a couple valid reasons and some superficial stupid ones. Well mostly cause there was always that jerk in the stang that whomped my SC and thought he was da 'Kiss Me''Kiss Me''Kiss Me''Kiss Me'z, bla bla bla. Yeah, until he tried to chase me on an off ramp at 100+....How do u like dem spinz, yo...

The primary reason for not liking the Mustang is that its a drag car and you have to build the handling into it. I also am not too keen on a live axle and prefer IRS. I am a handling freak that starts life at 100+mph. I like to drag race and think its fun, but snaking a turn and hearing no tire squeal at 125 with a vette screaming on yer ass in a beat down TBird is something to behold...

When the supercharged Cobra hit the scene, my antennas went up. 400hp with a warranty, IRS and decent handling on a proven engine that isnt going to blow apart? Hmmm. My SC started to look a little ancient...But I pushed on with my anti-Mustang Thunderbird project...

Sunday, February 29th 12:00am.....A whisper of air from under the sunroof lid became a shotgun blast that ripped through the car. I looked up and the whole thing flew off the car. (stop laughing) Hell, I lost it. I started laughing as soon as I saw that it didnt hit anyone behind me. It took the damn door with it too.

Then it started to rain.

Garbage bags and duct tape adorned the roof of my ailing 142,000 mile 94SC as I dropped it at Arlington Heights Ford to see what it would cost to replace. I had priced the glass and halo at about 700, so I was assuming something close to a G-note, but when I got the call, my jaw hit the floor.

"In all of my 12 years of working here, I have never seen anything like this before" - Arlington Height Ford service manager.

Now this is dealer crap too, so I know I could junkyard it and fix the thing, but the guy called me, said there was one assembly they had to order and it was the entire unit because the rip bent the tracks so badly. $2400 without labor.

Immediately I called other custom shops and the lowest price was 1500 not including old hardware removal. I called my insurance company and yes, believe it or not, this was covered....But the car was not worth it and would be totaled out because of the damage. I was very unwilling to junkyard the part....I was done....Thats it....its over.

I walked from the service bay, asked them to park my car somewhere and walked straight over to the nearest sales guy and said "Redfire Cobra. Got one?" After some fierce negotiations, 10 dealers fighting and tossing between a 04 and 03, a local Ford dealer unloaded one on me that met my monthly payment range at 5.9%. I retired my 94SC to the garage with soaked seats. During the week I even drove to hammond with absolutely nothing on the roof, in the rain, both ways because it blew off.

Off the lot CAP drove the car, only because it was raining and I sure as hell didnt want to take a $30,000 400hp car into the rain when I haven’t touched a manual in years. Off the lot and into a pole...So much for trying to keep it safe, eh?

Now this redhead is my baby and it has happily removed so much stress from my life and the embarrassment my 94 created for me. The rod knocking, the wheel well fell off when I hit a muffler and tore off the bottom of the bumper. Headlight issues that my ex girlfriend would make cracks about because one headlight would lose connection sometimes. Oh yeah, it became a hoopty…With a complete car dynamat and 3000 watt stereo and kickin suspension, but that’s about it.

Now at 250 miles on the clock, I regret ever dumping so much time and money into my SCs. I never wanted to “buy” horsepower and always like the challenge of what I was doing. I wanted to take the underdog and make it a nice sleeper. Nowadays with the 3.8L Mustangs taking on the rice burners and using SC blocks, the aftermarket has helped the SC crowd. Hell, we kinda half created that world for the 6-banger stangs.

In the late 1980’s Ford SVO set out to create something new. In 1988, they dropped the Thunderbird SC into the laps of the world. The first mass-produced intercooled, supercharged engine to hit the streets by a domestic car company (other than the 1958? TBird). The MN12 platform, still one of the best handling, in my opinion, platforms designed. Ride control, seating for 5, decent stereo and power to rival the GT of the time with torque that approached the Cobra. If it bore the SVT badge, maybe this car could have had a better shot at being something other than a head gasket eater. It has been rumored that in fear of a TBird overtaking Mustang sales, the exhaust was restricted to lower power to 220hp (240hp in 94-95). This, accompanied by a somewhat restrictive cooling system led to the demise of this ahead of it’s time engine design. Now a car that pushes 12psi (89-93) and 14psi (94-95) should have made more power. GTPs make that with 8psi. Where Ford went wrong is too long for this thread that has already put most of you to sleep.

In another thread I will tell the tale of two T-Birds. Neither of which I had the pleasure of blowing up myself. All I have to say is the dream seems to be over for me and now it’s a question of how to rid myself of the beasts in the most lucrative way possible.

On one side you have my 93 with a 400+hp engine and ArtCarr Extreme AOD w/ Art Carr converter. Gauges, computer and all the trimmings makes it a fine, powerful car with an aging, dented body.

On the other side you have the 1994 with a better body, no sunroof, killer stereo, Tokico 1.5in Linear springs and electronically controlled shocks. 1 ¼ front and rear sway bars that balance the car in the turns, full compliment (uninstalled) Autometer Lunar gauges, EEC Tuner, Polished and ported 20psi capable supercharger with 85mm Chrome TB, 3.5in chrome intake tube, 90mm MAF, 42lb Lightning injectors and a 255lph Holley Forced Induction 65psi capable fuel pump.
Headers, downtubes and cats on the 93 are all 2.5 inch which will mate with the 2.5 inch dual inlet on the 94’s Magnaflow stainless center resonator and out in a 3inch to dual 2.5 inch stainless Magnaflow exhaust.

It seems that this may be a staging ground for a combination resurrection of this quest and the sale of every spare part and the stripping of an old friend…Ebay here she comes.

If I could find a buyer for both cars as-is, there is a hefty pricetag, but I think I may have to combine the two cars into one good one, strip the 93 and sell the 94 complete.

The project might be fun to undertake and I am going to involve little outside help other than Cap if I can. Now I have my Cobra and a 2003 1100 CBR-XX BlackBird (ironically). I need not worry about downtime with no car, so I have my work cut out for me.

It’s sad to see a dream die, but sometimes it’s a futile battle. I have learned many lessons and made many enemies. It was a fight to vindicate the underdog of both the car and myself. With so many people picking on my car, the problems and other things, it just pushed me harder, but after a while the dream became a resentment of enormous proportion and I do not regret my snap decision on the Cobra. If you’re gonna go to the dark side, might as well go get yourself the Death Star of Mustangs. Believe me, the first time I chirped third, I was in love.

I hope I haven’t bored you all to death with this thread, but as Cap will tell you, I blab a lot, but I have one hell of a story to tell. Two T-Birds, a combined 9 engines, combined 4 transmissions, a list of spare parts to choke Ebay, manuals everywhere and enough gauges to rival an F-15 on top of approaching a combined total of $45,000+ spent including the purchase prices of both cars and refinancing of the 93…I’ve paid my dues and think I at least deserve an audience sometimes.

In the end I achieved what I wanted. A 400+ horsepower, supercharged, great handling, unique car….This time with a warranty.
 
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